Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer asked about multiple career losses against unranked teams

Nov 30, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer walks onto the field before a game against the Auburn Tigers at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Will McLelland-Imagn Images

In his first season as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Kalen DeBoer led Alabama to victory against conference rivals like Georgia and LSU, but the Tide’s consistency wavered. Losses against unranked opponents like Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and Michigan seemingly overshadowed the wins against ranked teams.

In his career as a head coach in college football, DeBoer is 15-3 against top 25 opponents but has lost 10 games when his team was favored over unranked opponents.

At SEC Media Days in Atlanta, DeBoer talked about how Alabama can overcome last year’s losses and not repeat them.

“Yeah, I think it’s learning from those mistakes,” DeBoer said. “A lot of those losses happened in year one at different places. So, you want year two to be moments of growth, where you can polish and clean things up. Areas where you installed offense, defense, special teams’ schemes that are just now your foundation. You never are taking it for granted. You’re starting over from scratch every season. Now you build on tangents which you have that help you win more football games. A lot of it comes down to those big moments, building a culture where you keep fighting till the very end. There’s going to be a lot of close games. A lot of those wins you’re talking about came down to the very end, moments where it looked bleak at times. You fight, execute, find a way to win. That’s what we’ve got to do here going into year two at Alabama, as well.”

The first week of the season will put this philosophy to the test as Alabama visits Florida State.

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